Buzz
Human beings are incredibly imaginative. We've crafted clothes for ourselves, harnessed the power of fire, and even sent monkeys into space, leaving them to face the vast unknown of the cosmos. One of humanity's most remarkable achievements, however, remains our architecture. Just look at the tallest buildings around the world, and it becomes clear that there’s almost nothing beyond our reach. But not every idea is a success, with some being too advanced for their time or simply too radical for the public to accept.
10. The Road Tower in Paris
In 1937, Paris almost became the site of a 700-meter (2,300 ft) tower with a road winding up its entire height, resembling an automotive version of a barber pole. At the top of the tower would be a hotel, with the ability to drive directly from the ground up into a parking garage that could fit up to 400 cars. A restaurant would sit in between the hotel and the garage, creating a bizarre architectural trifecta.
A monorail system would secure the cars as they descended, controlling their speed to prevent them from plummeting off the rails to a presumably disastrous end. However, the cars would operate entirely on their own when ascending, which seems like a significant oversight, considering how often fatal accidents happen on regular roads.
The tower was never built, most likely because its design went against every principle we understand about how buildings are meant to function.
9. Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid
The Mega-City Pyramid is an ambitious proposal for a massive, floating pyramid in Tokyo Harbor. It would be so vast that it could accommodate a million people and be so towering that 100-story skyscrapers could easily fit inside. The concept seems logical—Japan is densely populated, and some visionary likely gazed at Tokyo Harbor and thought, “If only this aquatic space could be transformed into a living space, we’d have so much more room!”
The Pyramid would consist of five trusses stacked one upon the other, each roughly the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza. Once completed, the pyramid itself would stand approximately 14 times the height of the Great Pyramid.
If constructed, this would become the largest structure on Earth. However, it’s so massive that none of the materials we have today could withstand the stress—they would literally break apart under the pyramid’s weight, and if one truss collapses, nearly a million people would fall into the ocean. So for now, we’ll have to classify this as “science fiction” until we can develop carbon nanotubes or another super-strong construction material.
8. Burj Khalifa Fabric Wrap
A proposal has been put forward to enshroud the world’s tallest skyscraper, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, in a colossal fabric “sock.” This ambitious project would involve a massive sheet subject to the forces of nature and immense strain, leading one to wonder if it has some greater purpose. Perhaps it is designed to capture wind power and strike fear into Dubai’s adversaries or something equally dramatic.
However, the project’s lead designer explains, “In the spirit of exploring creative potential in the public realm, Exo-Burj aims to create a fluid urban ambience.” Or, put more simply, “It’s just for aesthetics.”
One of the selling points of the design is that visitors will be able to “walk up close and experience the installation firsthand.” Yes, a key feature is literally “you can walk up and touch it,” which is hardly a revolutionary concept in construction. The installation will be temporary—if it moves forward, it will essentially be the world’s largest art exhibit, only to be dismantled shortly after.
7. Vertical Farming
If there’s one complaint about traditional farming, it’s that you can’t farm hundreds of feet above the ground. Vertical farming is here to fix that. By cultivating crops inside skyscrapers, this method brings an artistic, futuristic twist to farming, reminiscent of a modern-day Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Vertical farming could address numerous challenges, assuming it’s ever realized. By 2050, it’s estimated that 80 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas (up from 60 percent today). Some experts predict that this, combined with the growing global population, could result in food and land shortages. Vertical farming creates farmable land on every floor of a building. Add to that the advantage of being able to control the indoor climate, and it’s possible to farm year-round.
Proposals for vertical farms include the Dragonfly, a concept inspired by dragonfly wings, planned to be placed right in the heart of New York City. The main challenge, however, is that technology has yet to catch up with such ambitious visions.
6. Plan Voisin
The Road Tower wasn’t the most radical idea proposed for Paris. Though this city is often considered one of the most romantic and picturesque places on Earth, in the 1920s, architect Le Corbusier envisioned demolishing it and redesigning it entirely in a new and bold way, which he referred to as Plan Voisin.
Le Corbusier proposed demolishing historic Paris and replacing it with 18 massive glass towers. These towers would be interconnected by subway systems and surrounded by an expansive garden city, becoming the hub of Paris’s entire business district.
At the time, tearing down Paris seemed somewhat justifiable since much of the city was deteriorating and filthy. However, it's hard to envision a world where the Paris we know and love no longer exists.
5. The World
Dubai is no stranger to outlandish construction ideas, but this particularly wild one actually got off the ground—before ultimately collapsing in failure.
The concept behind The World was to create a collection of islands off the coast of Dubai, designed in the shape of the continents. These islands would then be sold, with people building their homes on them. The islands were built, but the required infrastructure was not completed. Then, the global economy took a dive.
Today, only one island is occupied—a section of “Greenland” that belongs to Dubai’s ruler. Despite the company's assurances, the project has stagnated so much that the other islands are slowly eroding back into the sea. The World is falling apart, and unless its creators secure the necessary funds to finish the work, it will eventually be reclaimed by the ocean—even though 70 percent of the islands have already been sold, with some buyers including celebrities like David Beckham.
4. Project Chariot
Sometimes, the strangest part of a construction project isn't the unusual building itself but the construction methods involved. Enter Project Chariot, aka “Operation Nuke a Harbor Into the Side of Alaska.”
Right after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States was eager to showcase how atomic power could be used for peaceful, productive endeavors. Edward Teller (the creator of the hydrogen bomb) came up with the brilliant idea to use a few nukes as giant shovels to expand the Panama Canal and dig a harbor in Alaska.
A village called Point Hope was located just 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the planned harbor site. And keep in mind, this was the 1960s, and we already knew about radiation poisoning. But that didn’t stop the government from lying to the residents of Point Hope, assuring them that there was no danger whatsoever.
The project was eventually abandoned because the people of Point Hope refused to stop protesting. Plus, it was easier to conduct explosions in the middle of the Nevada desert, where a test site already existed.
3. Freedom Ship
Freedom Ship was first envisioned in the ’90s as a colossal, self-sustaining floating city designed to travel around the world. The ship would have its own economy, complete with stores, schools, jobs, and all the comforts of traditional land-based society.
Measuring 1,371 meters (4,500 feet) and rising 25 stories high, the ship would circle the globe once every two years, making stops at all major ports. However, its sheer size meant it wouldn’t fit into these ports, so residents would need to fly into the cities via the ship’s top-deck airport.
So why did it never come to fruition? Well, aside from the immense challenge of building such a massive structure, the plan required convincing 50,000 people to actually live on it. At the time, no one seemed willing to uproot their entire lives for what might turn out to be the next Titanic. As attractive as the Freedom Ship idea was, people weren’t ready to live in close quarters in a world marked by terrorism, conflict, and fighting, even without being packed like sardines.
Even if interest reemerges now, the company would need to raise between $9 to $10 billion to get the project off the ground.
2. The Manhattan Dome
The 1960s were a time when science fiction captured the public imagination, and domed cities were a recurring theme in these stories. It’s no surprise then that architect Buckminster Fuller proposed a real-world version of a dome over New York City during this period.
The dome would cover most of Manhattan and help filter out pollution from the air. It would create a climate-controlled environment where no buildings would require heating in the winter or cooling in the summer, as the dome itself would maintain a stable temperature.
Fuller believed that once the technology to build the dome was figured out, the city would save so much on heating, cooling, and snow removal that it could easily offset the cost of building the dome. However, the idea was not well-received. The expense would have been astronomical, and no one was certain it would work, so the concept of domed cities remained confined to the world of science fiction, much to Fuller’s disappointment.
1. Sutyagin House
Not all wild architectural ideas are monumental in scale. In 1992, Nikolai Sutyagin in Arkhangelsk, Russia, decided his house wasn’t quite enough, so he began to add onto it. And kept adding—until it became the tallest wooden house in the world, standing 13 stories and 44 meters (144 ft) high.
Initially, he added three extra floors, but was unhappy with how it looked. He continued to build on, trying to improve the appearance, but it never quite met his expectations. Sutyagin was never fully satisfied with the structure until his imprisonment. When he was released, he no longer had the financial resources to continue the project, leading to the gradual decay of the house.
The city council of Arkhangelsk declared the house a fire hazard and demanded its demolition. However, Sutyagin responded by placing a metal slab atop what was once the roof of his home, arguing that anything above that wasn’t part of the actual building but was merely decorative. The city didn’t accept this, and they forced him to tear down his wooden palace. All that remains now is the original home, along with photos of the castle-like structure it once was.
